Oh Great Mystery December 12, 2009

Centring around the expectations and magic of new birth, The Vancouver Peace Choir’s Oh Great Mystery offers a warm collection of works for choir and cello performed in an intimate venue and set amidst the cool grey days of December. The concert will include selections from Benjamin Britten’s beloved Ceremony of Carols, as well as works by Pearsall, Rutter, Victoria, and Enya, as well as selections from Bach’s cello suites.

Also featured on the programme are two works by Juno-nominated composer/conductor, Timothy Corlis. His Hodie Christus features a whisper-sung chant in dance-like rythmn as a backdrop to a more angular melodic line which gradually builds into a radiant Gloria in excelsis. The final work on the programme, Corlis’ Oh Great Mystery, includes an audience-sung refrain set amidst a choral theme and variations.

“The work is a composition that reflects on the divine feminine image in the celebration of the birth of Christ,” says the composer. “The central place of the Blessed Virgin both in the ancient text Oh Magnum Mysterium and in the context of the birth narrative brings to our attention the need for balance between the rational sphere of spirituality and the earth-born wisdom represented in the mystery of Christ's birth amongst the animals.”

Cellist Ben Bolt-Martin is in his ninth season with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada, where he performs live and records original music for stage plays. Since the age eighteen, he has been making guest appearances on albums for performers, composers and singer-songwriters, most recently on The Theatre Music of Marc Desormeaux and as the featured soloist on the JUNO nominated recording NotesTowards.

$20 adult | $15 senior | $10 student. Available through choir members, at the door, and at www.vancouverpeacechoir.ca.

Info 604.649.2153

Official Website: http://www.vancouverpeacechoir.ca